It's not every year that Mama and Dad open our house during Eid. That is, holding an Open House Malaysian style. This year happens to be one of those years where Dad will be frantically cleaning the house while Mama tears her hair out in the kitchen.
Last weekend, we opened our home and our hearts to friends from near and far. Last count, there were 40 (adults and children) people who came to our humble abode. Luckily they didn't all come at one the same time or else it would be hard to fit all into our teenie weenie living room.
In the invitation, Mama told everyone to come anytime after 1pm and by noon, everything was in place. Oh, there were some last minute things like Mama forgetting where she kept the tablecloth that we use only once a year.... or Dad made a mistake in buying the wrong size of instant ketupat.... But all went well...phew! We even get rewarded with oodles of Magnum afterwards...
When we look back at the list of those who came, we are amazed that our home was like a mini United Nations as we had guests who originated from Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Fiji and local Aussies as well. 1Australia?
Mama made us proud by preparing the following menu:
Nasi impit (instant pressed rice) with two types of rendang: beef and cockles (kerang)
Nasi minyak (ghee rice) with ayam masak merah (chicken in red gravy), kurma kambing (lamb in white curry), sambal sotong & tempe (squid & fermented soybean in chili), acar nenas & timun (pineapple & cucumber salsa) and garden salad with feta cheese.
Dessert? Mama didn't prepare any but we had heaps that the guests brought. There were mini cupcakes, cheesecake, jelly, layered and rolled cakes...Oh, we put some bananas and mandarins out. Easy peasy as we don't have to cut or carve to serve...clever, eh?
Oh yes...Mama also made us proud by putting her coffee making skills (using a proper espresso machine) to good use. So, we had many who tasted her cappuchino, latte, flat white, hot chocolate etc on that day.
Unfortunately, we were too busy with the meet and greet that we utterly forgot to take any pix of the food, either during cooking or when they've all been laid on the table. But we managed to snap pix of the leftovers that Mama stored in the fridge.
Hehehe...we attacked these girls while they were having their meal...
Hmmm...concentrate on the food...yummm...
Look closely...rare shots of the food as guests tucked in.
Pro-tem committee of Association of Kelantanese in Sydney?
Hmmm...what's tickling Aunty R? But a penny for Aunty H2's thoughts...
Uncle M, Uncle RB and Uncle R seemed glad to have bumped into each other at our home...small world, they said.
My nemesis for the day...these three, plus four more, were totally besotted with Brad and I that we ended up so exhausted and traumatic at the end of the day....
Aunty Z's kids were busy concentrating on the food....
Uncle Is and Uncle M were not having a fight that they sat very far from each other...? Or, were they?
Attentive audience that Uncle Y seemed to attract...
Aunty If and Uncle Is practicing grandchild minding while the actual parents and GrandMa looked on...
Very good baby! He was fast asleep despite all the noise the older kids were making.
After the party, the washing up was back breaking...heavy pots and pans and lids and oil and grease and chili....we're wishing for a dishwasher!
Leftovers in the fridge...nope...no more cooking for the next fortnight!
Ah...Dad choosing the best Magnum as our reward for being such a sport....purrr...meow!
26 comments:
Dell :You know what.When mamason had open house,she kept us at the backyard.Stingy maam.No chance to ngorat the fair ladies that came. hoho.
Jade: stop being cheeky
Dear Cat,
Looks like your mama really had a buzy w'end, but hey... nothing fishy for you? But I guess you had your fill with ALL those Magnum!!!Ilham will be so jealous :)
salam 1Australia..hey, let me it..and send over those Magnum..too much for one man..
..beaultiful, cis..loved open houses..keep the spirit up..cheers..
Nak Magnum satu! .... errr for my cat!
:P
Looks like you had a great do for Eid. The monyets will be launching a protest for not being invited.
Dell dear,
Next time, strike a deal with Mamason. No letting us play with those lovely girls who come, no TLC for her...for 2 weeks at least.
Mamason, purrlease don't be stingy with my darling Dell. purrrr....meow!
Mother of Ilham,
Oh, we had heaps of Magnum afterwards. Dad bought a few boxes for us to share. Our family always have these Magnum moments at home....in any season. purrr....meow!
Abe Mat,
You'd be thrilled to hear those Sydneysiders speak Kelantanese in our home that day. Some just discovered that they actually come from the same hometown! Talk about Eid merapatkan silaturahmi right? purrrr....meow!
Aunty Naz,
Not all cats can eat Magnum and not all Magnums agree with a cat's palate...like I hate the Ecuador dark and lurve the Gold while Brad hates the Mint but adores the White. So that's why we always buy several boxes of different flavours - last count we have 8 Magnum flavours over here. purrr.....meow!
Your Highness,
Is it because we had heaps of bananas for the guests? Err...if we had invited monyets, the cats won't be the COA anymore. So how? purrr.....meow!
Sounds like fun. What did your Aussie friends think of the food?
What a lovely time you all had! Wish I could have been there to share the moments and the yummilicious stuff!! Magnums...oo la la. Thanks for sharing!
40 guests! Wow, your mama and dad are really brave!!! Even though they all look like such nice people :)
Wish I were there to help you guys with the leftovers, though. Anything I can do to help, I will. You know that, no?
Salam CiS,
You seem to have a lavish and busy do for the Eid. The mention of that delicious sambal sotong reminds me that I have not seen anyone serving ketupat sotong in Ramadhan or on the Eid..
Ah.. have to go and buy some kilos of sotong tonite..
Hey, why no pics of the food your mama cooked?
Do I miss seeing any mention of your mum making tapai? Probabaly ragi is a prohibited item. What a shame! ... cry, baby, cry
Why your mommy didn't extend the open house invitation to us here? I think I was free on that day and hoping to drop by.
Au and Target,
Fortunately, the Aussies are very adventurous nowadays. They ate the rendang and whatnot, I saw, but Mama also prepared some garden salad...in case...hehehehe...lest they'll have to make do with cappuchino and cookies, eh? purrr.....meow!
Aunty Paula,
No kidding! There's at least 8 different flavours of Magnum we have Down Under. Can't mail them to you though... purrr....meow!
Aunty Pat,
There's still some leftovers in the fridge. We're back to canned and kibbled, so you're gonna have to help Mama out. purrr....meow!
Ayoh Wang,
The squids here are humongous, too big to make nice ketupat sotong but lovely to grill or make sambal with. Mama has this old Gganu recipe book that she's been experimenting with. Perhaps one day when we find the right-sized sotong. purrr....meow!
Aunty Pi,
My fault! I was in charge of the camera and was too busy socialising that I forgot to take pix of the food. But at least all kids who came got their angpows, OK? purrrr....meow!
Dear Pakcik,
Yes, you were right. There was no tapai. You know why? Because Dad somehow becomes "mabuk" if he gets too near tapai. And he's the ori 'gganu man in the house! purrrr....meow!
Aunty Yatt,
Ala....tak sempat print invitation card. purrr....meow!
I can imagine the noise level and the lovely smells coming out of your home during the party, dear Kitties! Open Houses are such a lot of fun. I went to only 2 this year. Yang lain tak sempat. The kids look like they enjoyed both the food and the company of lovely kitties! Raya sebulan, but if open house sebulan, pengsan Mama nanti, kan?
CO78,
Some of the guests said they were not sure which floor we're at but knew that they only had to follow their nose... luckily none of the neighbours complaint or else.... The Malaysian community here is small but seems like we kept on being invited to more and more open houses. They really live up to the mantra that fast a month = feast a month too. purrr....meow!
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